A Great Day in Harlem (film)
| A Great Day in Harlem | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover | |
| Directed by | Jean Bach |
| Produced by |
Stuart Samuels Terrell Braly Matthew Seig |
| Written by |
Jean Bach Susan Peehl Matthew Seig |
| Starring |
Quincy Jones Dizzy Gillespie Sonny Rollins Buck Clayton |
| Narrated by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Steve Petropoulos |
| Edited by | Susan Peehl |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Great Day in Harlem is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Jean Bach about the photograph of the same name. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[1]
Director Jean Bach acquired an original, home movie showing the 1958 photo shoot from musician Milt Hinton on the day the photograph was taken in 1958.[2] She used Hinton's home video as the basis for her hour-long documentary.[2]
In a piece published in The New Yorker, jazz critic Whitney Balliet praised Bach's film as "a brilliant, funny, moving, altogether miraculous documentary."[2]
Jean Bach described how, upon the film's release, a number of similar photographs employed the "A Great Day in…" theme.[3] Hugh Hefner assembled Hollywood-area musicians for "A Great Day in Hollywood" in conjunction with a sneak preview of A Great Day in Harlem.[3] Soon after, "A Great Day in Philadelphia" included musicians such as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson and Ray Bryant.[3] During the filming of Kansas City, musicians including Jay McShann posed for "A Great Day in Kansas City."[3] A multi-page supplement in The Star-Ledger featured "A Great Day in Jersey," while a Dutch photograph was titled "A Great Day in Haarlem."[3]
The trend spread to other styles of music, with Houston blues musicians posing for "A Great Day in Houston."[3] "A Great Day in Hip Hop" was followed by XXL's "The Greatest Day in Hip Hop."[3] An Atlanta radio station gathered musicians for "A Great Day in Doo-Wop."[3] A New York cellist, inspired by both the original photograph and the film, assembled chamber musicians for "A Great Day in New York."[3] The New York Post ran "A Great Day in Spanish Harlem."[3]
By 2004, The New York Times was referring to the original photograph as A Great Day in Harlem.[3]
References
- ↑ "NY Times: A Great Day in Harlem". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- 1 2 3 Martin, Douglas (2013-05-28). "Jean Bach, Jazz Documentarian and Fan, Dies at 94". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Jean Bach, Susan Peehl, and Matthew Seig (2005) [1994]. "The Copycat Photos". A Great Day in Harlem (DVD). Image Entertainment.